Uri Caine opens a new window in his versatile playhouse of music. Together with Zach Danziger and Tim Lefebvre he plays with the development of electronic and groove music. Caine, Danziger and Lefebvre are Bedrock and »Plastic Temptation« is their third album. The older sounds of the Hammond B3 and Minimoog are combined with the sounds of Drum 'n' Bass and electronica. Their sound encompasses wild improvisations, remixes of their own sounds, beats, and elements of Dance and House music. »Plastic Temptation« also features the stirring voice of gospel singer Barbara Walker and the propulsive rhythms of percussionist Elizabeth Pupo-Walker.
Basically, one of the great attributes of this ambitious project is based upon Caine's ability to inject humor and disparate elements into his writings and arrangements; although, there's much more than meets the eye here as ideas abound....
In his time, European classical composer Gustav Mahler (b. 1860, d. 1911) had both his supporters and his detractors. Some people in Europe understood his work; some people didn't. And in the 21st century, the same thing can be said about Uri Caine, a risk taker who has been called everything from ultra-pretentious to a musical visionary. The latter, not the former, is accurate; Caine's jazz/Euro-classical experimentation has had its excesses at times, but dismissing him as pretentious or silly is unwarranted – and his pluses greatly outweigh his minuses.
Few jazz performers have been as successful in applying their improvisational chops to the work of revered classical composers as this Philadelphia born pianist Uri Caine, whose catalog over the years has included homages to everyone from Herbie Hancock and Thelonious Monk to the songs of Tin Pan Alley and more recently, Mahler, Wagner, Bach, Beethoven and Schumann.
Uri Caine is a musician of astonishing virtuosity and versatility. Coming out of the legendary Philly Jazz scene, his playing is an encyclopedia of styles from Tatum to Evans and beyond. With Moloch he interprets tunes from Zorn’s Book of Angels in a breathtaking outing for solo piano. Virtuosic and soulful, this latest volume of material from Masada Book Two is an absolute tour-de-force. Fifteen musical miniatures by one of the world’s greatest piano virtuosos.
Guitarist Mark O'Leary is usually classified as an avant garde artist, but his album CLOSURE isn't as far out as one might expect. The trio date, which includes drummer Ben Perowsky and pianist Uri Caine, is melodic and accessible, recalling some of the jazz-rock fusion projects of the 1970s. But this is not to say CLOSURE is safe and predictable. Caine, Perowsky, and O'Leary demonstrate a taut, mercurial interplay that favors subtle, complex invention over in-your-face skronk.Vigorously recommended ;)
In the 21st century, it's easy to take technology for granted and forget that in the time of Johann Sebastian Bach (b. 1685, d. 1750), there were no cars, busses, airplanes, TVs, radios, movies, tape recorders, electric lights, or computers. People used candles to light their homes, and horses were the fastest way to get around. There were excellent plays and opinionated theater critics to review them, but no cameras to film the actors and actresses. Recording technology had yet to be invented, so the only way to hear classical musicians was to hear them performing live. Although the classical artists of Bach's time could not be recorded, they left behind their compositions, and today's classical musicians continue to keep them alive.